


TF29 Personnel Files

by universal_reno



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Gen, One Shot Collection, Team building with added explosions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universal_reno/pseuds/universal_reno
Summary: TF29-centric one shots and other miscellany. Mostly focused on Aria and MacReady for the moment.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't posted anything in awhile, so I figured I'd put up some of my TF29 odds and ends. First few chapters will (probably) be focused on how MacReady and Aria became a couple, because they totally are in my mind. And then, I dunno, maybe I'll have some Miller/Jensen or something. Haven't seen that before. Either way, I'll update the tags accordingly.

The explosion in the stairwell of the Apex Centre knocked MacReady off his feet and threw him against the wall. If this was Marchenko’s idea of a warning shot he shuddered to think what the killing blow would be. Not that he could think much at the moment. Low yield or not, having a bomb go off less than ten feet away tended to disrupt higher cognitive functioning, sometimes permanently.

The fist thing he became aware of once he could see anything besides the empty whiteness of near unconsciousness was blood. Lots of it. One glance at the front of his uniform and he knew he was done for if even half of it was his. He ran his hand over the fabric tentatively, expecting to feel shrapnel or bone, but everything important seemed to be in place.

He struggled to his feet but nearly collapsed again when his attempts at getting enough air came with a stab of pain that informed him at least one rib was broken. Definitely not fun, but he’d had worse. More critical at the moment was figuring out if any of his team had survived. He instinctively looked for Aria. She was the newest and actually seemed like a halfway decent person, which in his experience suggested that fate would do its damnedest to take her out. 

He caught sight of her crouching behind a corner on the next landing down, just as she shot the legs out from under an opportunistic militant. Without thinking he grabbed his fallen rifle and was at her side a moment later.

“Stay down!” she yelled, just as a flash grenade was lobbed up at them. He slammed the visor on his helmet shut and dialed up the opacity to maximum a second before it went off.

The latest explosion neatly dealt with what little hearing he’d managed to regain since the first blast, but the visor did its job in terms of preventing his retinas from being burned out. He shoved it up just in time to put two rounds in the chest of the grenade’s owner as he advanced up the stairs.

As suddenly as the chaos had started everything went silent. Or at least still. The pervasive ringing in his ears meant actual silence was more of an assumption. Either way it looked like Marchenko had relied on the explosions to take out any intruders and concentrated the majority of his men elsewhere.

Aria stirred beneath him and blinked dazedly. Apparently he’d thrown himself on top of her to shield her from the blast. Funny, he didn’t remember doing that. A second later her expression changed to alarm when she caught sight of all the blood. He could read lips well enough to make out his name and tell she was probably screaming it. He scrambled off her, both to prove that he wasn’t dead and to prevent the situation from becoming awkward.

“You still in one piece, Argento?” he was probably yelling at her, but unless she had as much defensive tech stuffed into her head as Jensen she was unlikely to know let alone mind at the moment.

She nodded. “You gonna bleed out on me?” He’d nearly heard that, which was a definite improvement.

He shook his head. “Don’t think you’re getting a promotion that quickly.”

She smirked and got to her feet, offering a hand to help him up. If he leaned on her on the way back up the stairs it was only because the pain in his side made his vision blur with every step.

By some miracle everyone from Prague had survived the blast and subsequent shootout. Which meant the poor bastard who’d taken the brunt of the initial explosion, and whose insides were now staining the front of his uniform, was one of the guys from the London office who’d been sent in with them on the basis of knowing the building’s layout better. Fat lot of good that had done them. MacReady hadn’t bothered learning their names, and now there wasn’t enough left of one of them to identify even if he had. The dead agent's surviving companion knelt by the corpse and stared in horror. MacReady was about to attempt to rouse him with a touching commentary on how they needed to stick together and find cover before the rest of them had their faces blown off too, but just then his com crackled to life.

“Got the keycard.” Well, at least Jensen’s day was going closer to plan. His initial reply was lost when he nearly choked on the attempt to speak. He sank to his knees and wrapped an arm around his side, trying to keep his ribs in place.

“Good, but make sure you take out all of them before you go on” he managed after spitting out the mouthful of blood that had been attempting to drown him. “But do it quietly. God knows we’ve made enough of a racket down here.”  

He killed the com link and looked over to where Aria had managed to get the surviving London agent back on his feet. By the look of him he was too far gone from shock to be of much use any time soon, but at least they wouldn’t have to drag him out of here.

MacReady stood, leaning heavily on the wall. “We press on” he said in the most authoritative tone he could manage without being able to take a proper breath. “Whatever Marchenko has planned, Miller and Jensen will need backup. But keep your eyes open. Don’t need any more surprises.”

The rest of his team nodded in acknowledgement and began the trek up the stairs. It would be slow going from here on out, but better late than dead. MacReady spared a glance back at the fallen London agent. A few feet further ahead and it would’ve been him, but it didn’t pay to dwell on that. The formalities surrounding a death in the field could be dealt with later. For now his main concern was making sure this was the only one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continues where the last one left off. Now with added Miller, because I love him. And MacReady is totally his BFF... He's just snarky to everyone.

MacReady’s first thought when he finally reached the catering room was that Miller was dead. Jensen had said something about having an antidote to the Orchid, but he was way too pale and still for this to end any other way. He dropped down beside him and shook him urgently.

“Hang on. We’ll get you out of here.” He was genuinely shocked when Miller opened his eyes.

“I’ll be fine. Jensen had something… said it was an antidote. Get Brown and the delegates out of here. That’s your priority.”

“Like hell I’m leaving you!” Following orders was usually MacReady’s strong suit, but he and Miller had been almost inseparable since Australia. If he hadn’t been made director of TF29 MacReady would likely have taken his pension once his final tour ended and spent the past two years dying of boredom somewhere in the countryside.

Miller gripped his hand tight enough to prove he wasn’t quite dead yet. “I’m serious. If anything happens to them…” he trailed off, seeming to really see MacReady for the first time. “Christ... No, you’re right. You’re not going anywhere like that. Send your team in and wait here for the medics.”

Now it was MacReady’s turn to protest his fitness for duty. Except inconveniently enough he started coughing again, and even with the current state of his uniform he had to spit out way more blood than could be disguised by covering his mouth with his sleeve. Whatever was broken had almost certainly taken a lung out with it. The whole way up here his vision had been swimming as his body fought to get enough oxygen while also dealing with the pain. Hypostims could do wonders for the latter, but didn’t help much in terms of repairing deeper structural damage. As it was he’d only slow down the evacuation effort.

He slumped back against the wall next to Miller. With both of them out of commission he supposed Jensen was technically the ranking agent on site, God help them all. Whatever his other sterling qualities may have been (and even MacReady had to admit he had some) ‘leadership’ and ‘working well with others’ were not evident among them. Suffice it to say his was not the com frequency MacReady pulled up now.

“Argento, you’re in charge. Get to the VIP suite and make sure Brown and his posh mates make it to the helipad intact. I’m staying here with Miller.”

There was a brief hesitation before the response came. He was subverting the command structure and she knew it. “Copy that. Just try not to get yourself blown up again while we’re gone.”

Miller managed a half smile. He knew MacReady well enough to have seen this coming even before he’d requested Aria be assigned to his team, and he wasn’t about to let him live it down.

“She’s a good agent, Mac. You’d better not scare her off with talk of becoming wife number four” he teased. “We can’t afford to lose her. And I haven’t got time to deal with a sexual harassment claim.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be dying right now?” MacReady wasn’t going to let this drop even if it could be the last conversation they ever had. Especially then, in fact. “Besides, Aria can handle herself. She’d shoot me long before she went running to HR.”

“Always figured that’s how you’d go. You’ve never been able to resist a woman with a gun.”

“At least I didn’t marry a solicitor. Can’t wait to see what your divorce settlement looks like.”

“Fuck you.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you. Bet that’s why you’ve put up with me all these years.”

Miller laughed weakly and let his head fall against MacReady’s shoulder. Whatever Jensen had given him had certainly helped on the not dying front, but he’d still been beaten to hell and back and the lingering effects of the poison made it feel like someone had replaced all his blood with battery acid. Just staying conscious was an effort; talking was downright exhausting.

MacReady wasn’t doing much better. The only thing keeping him from passing out was sheer stubbornness combined with determination to ensure they made it out of here alive. “Fine pair we make at the moment, though” he managed.

“Good thing we’re exceptionally difficult to kill.” They’d been in worse scrapes. True, all that currently stood between them and the worst terror attack in decades was a spec-ops team now headed by a commander who hadn't seen action in almost two years and an single insubordinate American spy who appeared to subsist entirely on cigarettes and sugary breakfast cereal, but neither Aria nor Jensen had let them down before and Miller doubted they'd start now. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely happy with this. Needs more snark XD;; I do like Aria being the assertive one in their relationship, though.

****MacReady had been in hospital nearly eight hours before he got any definitive news on the outcome of the Apex Centre mission. At least, nearly eight hours that he was more or less aware of. There had been several more before that, but everything after he’d located Miller was pretty vague, clouded over by pain and then by morphine. The only thing he’d been able to determine with any certainty so far was that his run in with Marchenko’s little security system had cost him three broken ribs and a punctured lung.

When Aria slipped into his room he was picking listlessly at the bandages wrapped around his chest and wishing he could stay standing long enough to hack the computer in the corner and access his records. They’d done some kind of surgery, and ever since reading Jensen’s file he’d been plagued by dread that one day he’d wake up after some mishap and find they’d augmented him too. Not so likely these days, sure, but still the stuff of nightmares.

Somehow the sight of his newest teammate banished those fears to the back of his mind. She smiled brightly and dropped down into the chair next to the bed.

“Hey boss. How you holding up?”

She clearly hadn’t had a chance to go back to their hotel since the mission. Her hair was still flecked with bits of insulation from the explosion, but she’d at least managed to scrounge a sweater from somewhere and ditch her body armor.

“I’ll manage, thanks. Any word on Miller?” He figured he’d have heard by now if Marchenko had succeeded in bringing down some of the tallest tower blocks in the city, so the status of the rest of the taskforce had been his chief concern since waking up.

“Last I heard the nurses were threatening to sedate him if he didn’t stop taking calls from HQ, so I’m guessing he’ll be fine. Adam is in with him now.”

MacReady hadn’t fully realised how worried he’d been until he felt the tension drain out of him at the news that he wouldn’t have to call his best friend’s kids tomorrow and explain that one of their dads was dead. It must’ve showed, because Aria gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Everything turned out about as well as could be expected, really.” At least for the Prague branch. She knew all too well what the people in the London office must be going through right now after losing an agent in the field.

MacReady graced her with a rare smile. “Thanks in no small part to you. I’m sorry to have laid so much on you during your first field mission, but you did a damn fine job of it.”

“Thank you, sir.” She glanced down, hoping her hair would hide her blush. She was hardly a shrinking violet, but she also knew just how rare MacReady’s praise was. And for some reason any sort of affection from him made her feel all warm inside.

He gently tilted her chin up until she was forced to meet his eyes. “I mean it, Argento. I wouldn’t have requested you if I didn’t think you could handle field work, but you exceeded every expectation.”

She did meet his gaze this time. “Just doing my job. But it means a lot that you gave me the chance to prove I could.”

A chance she realised she’d probably sabotaged a second later when she leaned in and kissed him. MacReady froze for a moment, Miller’s warning about scaring her off and the memories of three highly unsuccessful marriages giving him pause. But hell, at least this nearly sidestepped the whole sexual harassment by a superior office issue.

Aria was a surprisingly assertive kisser, and as soon as he showed any intention of a favorable response she really went for broke. Not to be outdone, MacReady grabbed her shoulders and dragged her down on top of him. Ordinarily he would’ve been more than happy have his way with her then and there (or let her have her way with him, as she seemed inclined to do), but the movement sent a stab of pain through his side that no drug could overcome. He pulled away, curling in on himself in an instinctive effort to protect his ribs.

“Sorry. Surgery and all” he gritted out, trying not to sound like he was on the verge of tears because sweet fuck that hurt like nothing else. “Don’t suppose I could get a raincheck?”

Her expression moderated from outright alarm to sympathy, but she was still on edge. “Of course. I mean, if you want to… Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” She moved to leave, but he caught her hand and held her in place.

“No, you probably shouldn’t have. But I’m glad you did.”

She chanced a tentative smile then, and when it was returned she sunk back into the chair. He kept hold of her hand, rubbing his fingers over titanium knuckles in an affectionate gesture that she couldn’t quite feel in the conventional sense but appreciated none the less.

“I owe you a drink. You missed the victory celebration while you were unconscious. The rest of the guys should be passing out right about now.”

“Miss Argento” he said with mock disapproval “And here I thought you’d spent the last eight hours getting a jump on the mission reports.”

“Sorry, reports to HQ are above my paygrade.” She rested her chin on his hand, which was still covering hers on the mattress. The whole thing was surprisingly familiar considering that less than a month ago she’d assumed he hated her for being augmented. But seeing him dazed and bloodied in the stairwell of the Apex Centre had scared her way more than she’d thought it would. Now it looked like they’d have the chance to get much more familiar indeed, and she was glad for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which MacReady works too hard, and Aria is not amused.

It was just past two in the afternoon and the usually furious pace of activity at TF29’s Prague office had been brought down a couple of notches by the post-lunch doldrums. More than a couple, in MacReady’s case. He was slumped at his desk fighting more or less unsuccessfully to stay awake. The weeks since his team’s last big mission had been a blur of too many reports, too much coffee, not enough activity, and even less sleep. In all his years with the military and Interpol he’d seldom let what he experienced during missions keep him up at night, no matter how grim things got. Paperwork and looming deadlines, on the other hand, made him wake up in a cold sweat at three in the morning. Inevitably he’d then lay in bed for awhile trying to make his mind stop racing before finally giving in and getting up to work on whatever seemed most pressing at the time, only to crash half way through the next day.

He yawned and squinted at the latest email from the head office, but no matter how hard he tried the words refused to make any kind of sense. He really should take a break. Get up and have some more coffee. Maybe pester Jensen a bit. But before he could work up the ambition for any of that his eyes slipped closed of their own accord and all chance of being productive that afternoon went by the wayside.

\------------------

The next thing he was aware of was a cool touch on the back of his neck. He sat bolt upright and instinctively went for the pistol he always kept in the top drawer of his desk, but stopped when soft lips pressed against his jaw. 

“Easy now.” At the sound of Aria’s voice he relaxed. She settled herself on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder, still massaging his neck to work out the stiffness resulting from spending all afternoon using his keyboard as a pillow. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Only then did he notice an unfamiliar weight around his shoulders. He looked down and discovered that someone had draped a black coat over him. And considering the office only had one resident would-be goth, ‘someone’ meant Jensen.

“Adam found you when he came in to deliver his part of the mission report” Aria explained, noting his curious expression. “He worries when you get like this, you know.”

MacReady shook his head and scanned his desk for the aforementioned report. “Maybe if he’d turn in his paperwork on time I wouldn’t be so stressed. I need to ask him about the expense claims…” He somewhat reluctantly moved to shift Aria off of him, but she refused to be budged.

“He left half an hour ago. It’s just gone 18:00. You were out for hours... No one had the heart to wake you.” By which she meant she and Jensen hadn't had the heart to wake him, and had successfully intimidated any of their coworkers who'd seemed disinclined to show the same consideration. The combined promise of his Typhoon and her sniping skills was a pretty powerful deterrent. 

He cursed under his breath and stood up, depositing her neatly in his chair. She glared at him.

“I have to get this wrapped up by tomorrow. Miller needs to send everything on to HQ.”

“I talked to Miller earlier. He’s giving you an extension until Friday. Though why I had to be the one to ask him for it I don’t know. He _is_ your friend, as I recall. Not to mention another one for the list of people who worry when you work yourself to exhaustion.”

MacReady had the decency to look sheepish at that. He hadn’t recruited Aria to be his secretary, and at any rate he shouldn’t need a go-between to talk to his closest friend, boss or not. He folded Jensen’s coat and then set about packing up his laptop to avoid her disapproving look.

“No you don’t.” Aria positioned herself between him and the computer, planting her hand firmly on the lid before he could get it into his bag. “Did I not just tell you you’d been given an extension? You can either bring this thing home or me. Take your pick.”

He did meet her eyes then, and it was apparent she was being totally serious. For all intents and purposes they’d been living together for over a month now, but she still kept an apartment of her own and had also been known to crash with Jensen when MacReady annoyed her bad enough. Having to be alone for what little time he actually spent in bed was not an empty threat.

“I know. But it’s a busy time and even with an extra couple of days there’s just so much to do...” He leaned down to kiss her, tangling one hand in her hair and sneaking the other behind her to make a swipe at his computer. She was having none of it and dodged him, leaning back to sit on the laptop and glaring at him with an intensity that spoke of every person she’d shot over the years. He took a step back.

“Look, I’m sorry.” That had been underhanded and he knew it. But it didn’t prevent him from having another go. His exes hadn’t divorced him without reason. “I’ve been having a rough time lately, and if I can’t work that just makes it worse. It’s not like I’ll be able to sleep either way.”

Did he seriously think that kind of manipulation was going to work on her? Well, two could play at that game. She slid off the desk and pressed against him, groping his ass and grinding their hips together. “You will if I tire you out well enough first.”

She waited until he had his arms around her and had leaned in for another attempt at kissing before she pulled away. “Or you could spend the night with your emails while I go over to Adam’s place and wear him out instead. Your choice.” 

She really would go over to Jensen’s place too. Where they’d sit on the sofa eating ice cream and streaming American TV shows over the proxy some hacker buddy of his had set up, because that’s what friends did after a long day at the office. She knew MacReady knew that, and that he really didn’t feel threatened by Jensen anymore, but possessiveness was a big part of his nature and she wasn’t above exploiting it, especially when it was for his own good.

Mission accomplished. MacReady picked up his bag, sans-laptop, and headed for the door. He turned off the light before looking back at her.

“Come on then. Are you going to stand here in the dark all night or come home and fuck me until I forget who I am?”

She grabbed his spare coat from the hook by the door and wrapped herself up in it, looking triumphant.

“I’ll fuck you as soon as you admit that I know what’s good for you better than you do.”

“That was not part of the deal!”

The snipped at each other for the entire elevator ride up to street level. He kept trying to kiss her and she kept slipping just out of reach, protesting that after his last stunt she wasn’t about to let him pickpocket her while she was distracted. But when they finally emerged into the gathering dusk he had his arm around her shoulders against the cold and she was leaning into him, perfectly content. Maybe they weren’t the best for each other, but they were more than good enough.


End file.
